Best Soil for Gardening in Idaho

Idaho

Idaho has 57 USDA soil survey areas, and they vary considerably in how friendly the ground is for growing things. We ranked every survey area by the percentage of well-drained soil — the single most important soil property for most garden plants.

At the top, Salmon National Forest, Idaho has 99% well-drained soils — conditions where most vegetables, herbs, and flowers can thrive with basic soil preparation. At the other end, Boise County Area, Idaho, Western Part comes in at 26%, meaning more of the landscape has drainage challenges that may require raised beds, soil amendments, or careful site selection for a productive garden.

Remember that these are area-wide averages. Even in a low-ranking survey area, individual properties can have excellent garden soil. Look up your specific address for exact conditions.

#	Survey Area	Well-Drained Soils	Dominant Drainage	Dominant Soil Order
1	Salmon National Forest, Idaho	99%	Well drained	Mollisols
2	Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, Idaho	99%	Well drained	Mollisols
3	City of Rocks National Reserve, Idaho	99%	Well drained	Mollisols
4	Caribou National Forest, Idaho and Wyoming	99%	Well drained	Mollisols
5	Jerome County and Part of Twin Falls County, Idaho	98%	Well drained	Aridisols
6	Challis National Forest, Eastern Part, Idaho	98%	Well drained	Mollisols
7	Idaho Panhandle National Forest, Idaho-Washington-Montana	98%	Well drained	Andisols
8	Oneida County Area, Idaho	97%	Well drained	Mollisols
9	Lewis and Nez Perce Counties, Idaho	97%	Well drained	Mollisols
10	Bonneville County Area, Idaho	97%	Well drained	Mollisols
11	Butte County Area, Idaho, Parts of Butte and Bingham Counties	97%	Well drained	Aridisols
12	Bannock County Area, Idaho, Parts of Bannock and Power Counties	97%	Well drained	Mollisols
13	Seven Devils Area, Idaho	97%	Well drained	Mollisols
14	Clearwater Area, Idaho	97%	Well drained	Andisols
15	Targhee National Forest, Idaho and Wyoming	96%	Well drained	Mollisols
16	Cassia County, Idaho, Eastern Part	96%	Well drained	Mollisols
17	Power County Area, Idaho	96%	Well drained	Mollisols
18	St. Joe Area, Idaho, Parts of Benewah and Shoshone Counties	95%	Well drained	Andisols
19	Wood River Area, Idaho, Gooding County and Parts of Blaine, Lincoln, and Minidoka Counties	95%	Well drained	Aridisols
20	Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Idaho	95%	Well drained	Aridisols
21	Owyhee County Area, Idaho	95%	Well drained	Mollisols
22	Adams-Washington Area, Parts of Adams and Washington Counties, Idaho	95%	Well drained	Mollisols
23	Clearwater National Forest, Idaho	95%	Well drained	Inceptisols
24	Idaho County Area, Idaho, Western Part	93%	Well drained	Mollisols
25	Elmore County Area, Idaho, Parts of Elmore and Owyhee Counties	92%	Well drained	Aridisols
26	Duck Valley Indian Reservation, Idaho and Nevada	92%	Well drained	Mollisols
27	Nez Perce National Forest, Idaho	92%	Well drained	Inceptisols
28	Blaine County Area, Idaho	92%	Well drained	Mollisols
29	Caribou County Area, Idaho	92%	Well drained	Mollisols
30	Benewah County Area, Idaho, Western Part	92%	Well drained	Alfisols
31	Clark County Area, Idaho, Parts of Clark and Butte Counties	91%	Well drained	Mollisols
32	Latah County, Idaho	91%	Well drained	Alfisols
33	Franklin County Area, Idaho	90%	Well drained	Mollisols
34	Gem County Area, Idaho	90%	Well drained	Mollisols
35	Ada County, Idaho	89%	Well drained	Aridisols
36	Kootenai County Area, Idaho	89%	Well drained	Mollisols
37	South Idaho Forests, Idaho	88%	Well drained	Mollisols
38	Cassia County, Idaho, West Part	88%	Well drained	Aridisols
39	Payette County, Idaho	88%	Well drained	Aridisols
40	Bingham Area, Idaho	88%	Well drained	Mollisols
41	Bonner County Area, Idaho, Parts of Bonner and Boundary Counties	88%	Well drained	Andisols
42	Madison County Area, Idaho	85%	Well drained	Mollisols
43	Camas County Area, Idaho	84%	Well drained	Mollisols
44	Teton Area, Idaho and Wyoming	84%	Well drained	Mollisols
45	Challis National Forest, Western Part, Idaho	84%	Well drained	Mollisols
46	Fort Hall Area, Idaho, Parts of Bannock, Bingham, Caribou, and Power Counties	84%	Well drained	Mollisols
47	Kooskia Area, Idaho County, Idaho	83%	Well drained	Mollisols
48	Minidoka Area, Idaho, Parts of Minidoka, Blaine, and Lincoln Counties	83%	Well drained	Aridisols
49	Jefferson County, Idaho	82%	Well drained	Aridisols
50	Boundary County Area, Idaho	82%	Well drained	Andisols
51	Custer-Lemhi Area, Idaho, Parts of Blaine, Custer, and Lemhi Counties	82%	Well drained	Mollisols
52	Canyon Area, Idaho	80%	Well drained	Aridisols
53	Fremont County, Idaho, Western Part	77%	Well drained	Mollisols
54	Bear Lake County Area, Idaho	75%	Well drained	Mollisols
55	Middle Fork Payette River Area, Idaho, Parts of Valley and Boise Counties	65%	Well drained	Mollisols
56	Valley Area, Idaho, Parts of Adams and Valley Counties	29%	Somewhat excessively drained	Inceptisols
57	Boise County Area, Idaho, Western Part	26%	Somewhat excessively drained	Mollisols